That's one of my favorite Christmas songs, by the way, Rhonda. The first time I heard it was when Mark Lowry introduced it at one of the Gaither concerts one winter. It was the first year that it was released - and I *think* it was the first time he'd sung it publicly. I still love hearing him sing it. Here's another version of the same song:

My church's choir will be singing this song this year, too. It's so beautiful!

Yes, Mark is extremely funny, and has a gorgeous voice! I got to see him in person. Out of the Gaither Vocal Band, he was the only one I didn't get an autograph. Got Bill, Guy Pinrod and Jonathan Pierce, but Mark was no where to be found.....Got to meet Anthony Burger as well. Such a tragic loss.....

I was able to go to several of the Gaither Homecoming concerts, and after one of the concerts in particular, everyone just. . . left. I guess they all thought that everyone would be crowding around the singers, etc....At any rate, I got to spend time with quite a few of them - Mark and Anthony were the ones who talked with me the longest, though. Mark, because I have a nephew with ADHD, and Mark was telling me stories of his childhood. (And he also jokingly warned me to be careful of what I said and did around my ADHD nephew, because I might just end up in a comedy skit some day. ) And Anthony was SO sweet. Most pianists who are that famous will NOT share any of their techniques or show you how they played certain parts of the song. But seriously, he would walk you right over to the piano and show you how to do whatever it was you asked him about. He was SUCH a humble man, and yet incredibly gifted. I was heartbroken when he died. He and I had talked in person and emailed several times - all about music, of course. And his wife and I spoke on the phone several times...She was quite a special lady, too. Anyway...precious memories.

How sweet, Lisa.....Such great moments for you to always remember. At one of the GH concerts we had gone to, we caught Anthony at the table where they were selling their CDs and other things. We were talking with him about one particular song, sorry, can't remember which one, and he said something like, "Yeah, I really love that song....but with piano. Gloria loves the organ, and insisted it have organ instead of piano. I learned real quick, what Gloria wants, Gloria gets...when it comes to music." Then he smiled real big, winked, and went back to selling. You could tell he loved Gloria and Bill so much, but you could also tell how much music means to him, and that he had probably had a long discussion about whether the song would have piano or organ in it....

Mark was recently in the Springfield area with a couple of other groups. I didn't get to go, but the ads on the radio had snippets from his routine. He said something like, "I used to be ADHD, but I dropped the H, I'm too old for that." and "What I do now in church and get paid for, I used to do in church and get spanked." Such a nut!

Having had an older brother that was part of the USAF band, and now having 2 sons in the USAF, I am a little partial to this.

"Published on Dec 5, 2013Starting with a single cellist on the floor of the National Air and Space Museum's "Milestones of Flight" gallery, and swelling to 120 musicians, The U.S. Air Force Band exhilarated museum visitors with its first-ever flash mob. The four-minute performance featured an original arrangement of "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring/Joy to the World," led by the band's commander and conductor, Col. Larry H. Lang. Unsuspecting museum visitors including tourists and school groups were astonished as instrumentalists streamed into the gallery from behind airplanes and space capsules, and vocalists burst into song from the Museum's second floor balcony."

I just bought the Seth MacFarlane holiday album and I am in love with it. I know a lot of people don't like him. And even if they don't, I don't see how they can deny the fact that the man can sing. He is a true crooner. His other CD (non-holiday) was great.

These are my two favorites of his on the CD:

I don't mind Darius Rucker's version of this:

Although I probably still like Nat 'King' Cole's version best:

And I am quite into Michael Feinstein's version of this song this year:

In her first a cappella recording, Jackie Evancho and Peter Hollens sing a beautiful rendition of "Hallelujah" that is breathtakingly beautiful. Their voices harmonize beautifully together with this stirring song that has been a favorite among many. What a pleasure to watch and listen to with these talented and beautiful voices!